1994 Ford Escort
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Ford › Escort › 1994
These records cover every 1994 Ford Escort. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
2 recalls name the 1994 Ford Escort. Newest first.
Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy
Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. the recall began on april 3, 2006. owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.
The driver side air bag module can have an inadequately welded inflator canister.
Risk and remedy
Risk
In the event of a collision, the weld seam can separate, causing the air bag to fail to deploy properly and hot gases to be expelled from the back of the steering wheel. This can result in an increased risk of personal injury from the hot gases and the air bag failure.
Remedy
Dealers will install a new air bag module.
Owner complaints
279 complaints51 involved a crash16 involved a fire45 injuries5 deaths
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Seat belts
Automatic seatbelt IS jammed and seatbelt no longer works
- Seat belts › Front
1994 ford escort. Consumer writes in regards to passive restraint shoulder belt not working for a couple of years. *Tgw the consumer stated the seat belt would intermittently stop at mid-track and bouncing the door against the hinge would get it to move. Two weeks ago, it stopped in the middle of…
1994 ford escort. Consumer writes in regards to passive restraint shoulder belt not working for a couple of years. *Tgw the consumer stated the seat belt would intermittently stop at mid-track and bouncing the door against the hinge would get it to move. Two weeks ago, it stopped in the middle of the track. The consumer stated she could hear the motor trying to make it move. she left it alone and about four days later, it resumed operating. a week later, it froze again, a little more forward in the track than previously.
- Air bags › Frontal
TL* the contact owns a 1994 ford escort. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. the dealer and manufacturer were contacted and explained that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign ID number: 94v218000 (air bags:frontal). the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 115,404.
- Seat belts › Front
Driver side automatic seat belt inoperative while the passenger side automatic seat belt remains operative. nothing has been done to remedy this fault. *tr
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford escort. the contact was unable to start the vehicle when the key was inserted into the ignition. the instrument panel lights illuminated, however, the vehicle failed to start. the contact had to disconnect the battery in order to dim the instrument panel lights.…
Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford escort. the contact was unable to start the vehicle when the key was inserted into the ignition. the instrument panel lights illuminated, however, the vehicle failed to start. the contact had to disconnect the battery in order to dim the instrument panel lights. the dealer stated that the cause of failure was the ignition switch. as of june 18, 2007, the vehicle has not been repaired. the vin, engine size, powertrain, and # of cylinders were unavailable. the current and failure mileages were 94,000.
- Engine and engine cooling
1994 ford escort customer wants info about engine catching fire**cc *jb
- Seat belts › Front
TL*- the contact owns a 1994 ford escort. the driver side seatbelt isn't working properly when the door IS closed. the driver's side seatbelt IS jammed. The contact's seatbelt IS motorized and when you close the door it retracts half way and IS stuck, it wont move left or right. Seatbelt will not secure him in place. Yesterday IS the first and only time of this incident.
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
Headlight cover clouded from age. Drivers can't see well at night. I've noticed that all escorts have this problem. I also noticed a recall on replacement lighting that leads to suggest that many others are having to replace the headlight covers. Why isn't manufacture responsible for defective…
Headlight cover clouded from age. Drivers can't see well at night. I've noticed that all escorts have this problem. I also noticed a recall on replacement lighting that leads to suggest that many others are having to replace the headlight covers. Why isn't manufacture responsible for defective parts? Especially safety parts. Previous owner hit something slightly. I believe this IS due to lack of adequate lighting. *nm
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
I have a 1994 ford escort station wagon, the driver side retractable seat belt failed and will not work. *nm
- Power train › Automatic transmission
After we came home our car locked into park, it would not move. When my husband removed the cover , the spring inside IS totally screwed up. It would be fatal if this locked up while on the highway. We have two kids this it a ford safety issue. This IS the second time this has happened.*jb
- Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil springs · Suspension › Rear › Springs › Coil springs
Dt*: the contact stated there was a rattling noise coming from the front end of the vehicle while driving at any speed. upon inspection by an independent mechanic, the mechanic noticed the left front and both rear coil springs were broken. there were pieces of metal from the springs broken off which was causing the rattling sound. updated 05/16/2006. *ak *nm
- Air bags · Seat belts
The 1994 ford escort IS a very poorly made car. Most of these vehicles were manufactured with automatic seatbelts, the motors of which almost always fail. Ours was no exception. We had a manual seatbelt installed-- at our expense-- and today that manual seatbelt saved my husband's life in a…
The 1994 ford escort IS a very poorly made car. Most of these vehicles were manufactured with automatic seatbelts, the motors of which almost always fail. Ours was no exception. We had a manual seatbelt installed-- at our expense-- and today that manual seatbelt saved my husband's life in a rollover crash. Imagine if he had only had a lapbelt! Ford repeatedly denies that there IS a problem, but for every 10 escorts I see that were made about the same time, 9 of them have at least one failed seatbelt. In addition, the airbag failed to deploy in a rollover crash going some 75 mph. I can't say if my husband's injuries would have been less severe had the airbag gone off, but I do know that I will never buy a ford again.
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Engine failure. The head on the 1.9 litre engines have a built in flaw. The intake valve on number 4 cylinder fails. The valve seat breaks apart causing damage to the piston and also the head. 4 vehicles found to have this defect while we were looking for a used replacement head.*ak
- Power train › Automatic transmission
The vehicle was parked and idling when it suddenly went in reverse. the driver hung on to the open door of his 1994 ford escort and was dragged for 100 feet. *nm the consumer was dragged 100 feet and had gotten trapped between the door and the pavement and was suffocated. *sc
- Power train › Automatic transmission
Fatal death due to posible transmission going into reverse from park while vehicle in idle. *jb
- Seat belts › Front
Both driver and passenger passive restraint seat belts were in operative. both seat belts were stuck at the top of the door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. please provide further details. *jb
- Service brakes, hydraulic
While applying the brakes pedal went to the floor. Consumer was unable to maintain control of the vehicle,it and hit another vehicle from the driver's side. No injuries reported. consumer took vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic could not duplicate the problem. *ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
It was hard for the consumer to turn the key in the ignition switch, making it difficult for consumer to start the vehicle. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *Ak
- Seat belts
The cable for the seatbelt IS mangled, and the seatbelt (shoulder) does not work.
- Seat belts › Front
Motorized seat belt failure, jammed in place, noise from track trying to reposition itself. *Ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
When the consumer purchased the used vehicle, she was informed the ignition and clutch plate had been replaced and the parts were under warranty. The ignition failed and subsequently the vehicle was towed and the ignition switch was replaced. *Ak the ignition switch was replaced three times. *Jb
- Air bags
Consumer stated that air bag light on the dash IS flashing, indicating that something IS wrong. IS afraid that the air bag will deploy after reading the owner's manual. consumer took this vehicle to the dealership/mechanic, and was told that to check this problem it would cost him $89.00, and to…
Consumer stated that air bag light on the dash IS flashing, indicating that something IS wrong. IS afraid that the air bag will deploy after reading the owner's manual. consumer took this vehicle to the dealership/mechanic, and was told that to check this problem it would cost him $89.00, and to repair it would cost $100.00 per hour. consumer indicated that air bag light appearing on dashboard was a recall for some ford escorts, but not for his vehicle. he need edhelp with the repair cost.*ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Consumer states that gas line "rubbed through" as a result of coming in contact with the front sway bar ,causing a fuel leak.*ak
- Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil springs
Front left coil spring was cracked. Dealer notified.*ak the spring broke when the consumer arrived home. The vehicle made a "clunk" noise when in drive and reverse. The vehicle was towed to midas and the mechanic showed the consumer the problem. When the spring broke it rubbed against the tire and ruined it. Consumer had to replace the tire in addition to both spring. *ph
- Electrical system › Wiring
Electrical system: I have no head lights, tail lights, brake lights or turn signals. Possible short in wiring. Discovered burnt wires at the top of the hatchback. Tried to do a temporary fix using "boots". Did not help. The faulty wires possibly caused the main amp to blow which may have caused the alternator to go. *nlm
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10013060Climate control a/c service tech tips.
- 10008580Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock.
- 6092093Nners of the edsr-of-the-month quality award announcement for september.
- 6090087Information on identifying non-approved / alternate refrigerants which could cause safety, and performance concerns if installed in ford a/c systems.
- 6090082Information for servicing and diagnosing brake vibration, brake inspection, and brake friction material replacement.
- 6089681Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses.
- 3011600Unknown
- 630001Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant and/or oil from the cylinder head gasket area.
- 627747This aritlce IS to provide information on replacement of old style hood lamp switch to the rvised mechanical hood lamp switch.
- 625715Brake shift interlock.*jb
- 624257Test
- 623988Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *Slc
- 623944Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. *Slc
- 622804Some vehicles produced through july 1999 may exhibit rear suspension spring failure with no resulting operational concern.
- 618599Concerns with premature failure occuring on the 1.9L motorcraft remanufactured longblock assembly and shortblock assembly due to ingestion of foreign objects remaining in the transferred intake system from the original failed engine.
- 618596Subject pertaining to revised door latch switch service procedure.
- 615270Some vehicles may exhibit brief spark knock on acceleration during hot weather once the engine has thoroughly warmed up.
- 614752Engineering IS reviewing passive restraint (motorized seatbelt) systems in certain vehicles.
- 613910Subject regarding passive restraint system service information.
- 613860This bulletin provides revised passive restraint system information contained in the workshop manual and the electrical and vaccum troubleshooting manual (evtm).
- 612203Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip. *Mjs
- 610796Some vehicles may exhibit grinding noise, or greater than normal brake roughness, when applying the brakes immediately after installing motorcraft front brake pad part number BR-18 (xu2z-2v001-ra). *T
- 610688Brief information on passive restraint (motorized seatbelt) systems.
- 609692Some vehicles may exhibit grinding noises, or greater than normal brake roughness when applying the brakes immediately after installing motorcraft BR-18 front brake pad.
- 608431Information on the new flush and fill tool available through rotunda.
- 606508Conditions with the brake lamps inadvertently disabling the brake shift interlock.
- 606460Experiencing a whine / buzz type noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio on vehicles with an in-tank electric fuel pump.
- 606420Ford motor company now recommends sae 5W-30 viscosity grade for servicing any ford gasoline-powered vehicle regardless of model year.
- 605562Subject regarding the availability of hub-mount brake rotor machining equipment.
- 604059Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( F8AZ - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals.
- 603724Mass air flow (maf)- sensor contamination- service tip.
- 603695Experiencing a " buzzing " or " rattling " noise from the exhaust system.
- 601343A new silicone gasket and sealant.
- 601341Experiencing a whining / buzzing noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio.
- 601312Information on a buzzing or rattle noise from the exhaust system.
- 601290Information on tire company telephone numbers for customer assistance.
- 601264Availability of hub-mount brake rotor machining equipment.
- 601238Information on a new transmission fluid usage chart.
- 601019The front brakes may have a persistent squeal during braking at speeds below 56 km/h (35 mph).
- 601015A revised master cylinder and brake booster IS available for service on non-abs vehicles to further improve brake pedal feel and travel.
Every Ford Escort model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.